Disposable waste bag pack

ABSTRACT

A disposable waste bag pack is provided for use with a toilet which has a toilet seat and includes a first disposable bag which includes a zip-lock top first bag portion. A second disposable bag includes an expandable second bag top portion and a second bag bottom portion, and the second bag top portion is sized to fit over the toilet seat. Also, the second bag bottom portion is sized to fit into the first disposable bag which extends below the toilet seat.  
     A third disposable bag includes a quantity of toilet paper and a hand wipe package. The third disposable bag and its contents are stored inside the first disposable bag prior to use of the first disposable bag for retaining waste products. A directions sheet is also provided.  
     The second disposable bag includes a pair of pleated side walls. A quantity of waste treating chemicals are contained inside the second disposable bag. The waste treating chemicals include an admixture comprising a powdered gelling agent, a powdered odor neutralizer, and a powdered decay catalyst. member.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

[0001] This application claims priority based upon my copendingProvisional Application Ser. No. 60/185,165, filed Feb. 25, 2000.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0002] 1. Field of the Invention

[0003] The present invention relates generally to portable toiletdevices and, more particularly, to disposable bags for use with suchdevices.

[0004] 2. Description of the Prior Art

[0005] Portable toilets are used in a number of contexts. For example,toddlers who are being toilet trained often use portable toilets knownas potties. Similar portable toilets are often used on camping trips andin motor vehicles. Bedpans, that are used in hospitals and otherconvalescent care environments, are other forms of portable toilets.

[0006] Throughout the years, a number of innovations have been developedrelating to portable toilets, and the following U. S. patents arerepresentative of some of those innovations: U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,142,847,3,619,822, 5,187,819, and 5,611,092. Each of U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,142,847,3,619,822, 5,187,819, and 5,611,092 discloses a portable toilet that hasa flat planar floor that rests on a support surface. Each flat planarfloor has a bottom surface area that extends the full length and widthof the portable toilet. When such a portable toilet is lifted off of thesupport surface, the entire bottom surface may have to be cleaned if thesupport surface was dirty, such as in the outdoors. To avoid the needfor cleaning an entire bottom surface of a portable toilet, it would bedesirable if a portable toilet were provided with several legs that reston the support surface. Several legs would be easier to clean than anentire bottom surface of a portable toilet.

[0007] More specifically, U.S. Pat. No. 3,142,847 discloses a portabletoilet that does not include a seat ring which is virtually alwaysincluded in a fixed toilet. To improve comfort and provide a portabletoilet that more closely simulates a fixed toilet, it would be desirableif a portable toilet were provided with a seat ring. In addition, oncethe temporary need for a portable toilet has passed, the portable toiletis often folded up or packed up and transported to another location.This patent does not disclose a handle that would facilitate carrying ofthe portable toilet. In this respect, it would be desirable if aportable toilet were provided with a carry handle that facilitatestransport of the portable toilet when it is not in use. Furthermore,with this patent, a disposable bag that is employed must be big enoughto fit over the full outside length and width of the base portion. As aresult, the disposable bag may be relatively large compared to theamount of wastes which it is intended to carry. As a result, significantquantities of bag materials may be under-utilized and wasted. In thisrespect, it would be desirable if a portable toilet were provided thatpermits the use of disposable bags that are considerably smaller thanthe full outside length and width of the base portion.

[0008] U.S. Pat. No. 3,619,822 discloses a portable toilet that employsdisposable plastic bags that are, in essence, made in the portabletoilet itself on a continuous basis. To make the bags, heat sealingapparatus is provided. For purposes of simplicity, it would be desirableif a portable toilet were provided that uses readily available,pre-made, disposable plastic bags.

[0009] U.S. Pat. No. 5,187,819 also discloses a portable toilet that hasno seat ring, no seat legs, and employs big bags that fit over the fulllength and width of the base portion.

[0010] U.S. Pat. No. 5,611,092 discloses a portable toilet that employsa drawer-like base for a container that receives wastes. The containeris carried by the drawer-like base is rigid and is not intended to bedisposable, and, therefore, must be cleaned for further use and forstorage. To avoid time and effort that must be spent to cleannon-disposable waste receivers, it would be desirable for a portabletoilet to use only disposable flexible bags for receiving wastes.

[0011] As a matter of interest, U.S. Pat. No. 3,771,493 discloses acontainer for receiving pet wastes. It is noted that a disposableplastic bag is engaged by lugs on a lid which push through slots on acontainer. Portions of the disposable bag are pushed through the slotsby the lugs and are susceptible to damage, such as tearing, as a result.In this respect, it would be desirable if a disposable bag were retainedin a portable toilet in such a way that the disposable bag is notsubjected to significant tearing forces.

[0012] Our prior pending application Ser. No. 09/468,594, filed Dec. 12,1999, entitled: Portable Potty Apparatus, discloses a portable toiletcomprising a base unit having a hinged seat unit attached thereto and afolding leg assembly. A bag holder is disposed between the base unit andthe seat unit and is adapted to receive and hold a disposable bag forcollecting human waste.

[0013] In respect to the above prior art, it would be desirable if aconvenient package were provided to a user of portable toiletscontaining among other articles a disposable bag for collecting humanwaste wherein the package also is adapted to serve as a disposablecontainer for the disposable waste collecting bag after the latter isused in conjunction with a portable toilet to collect human waste andthen is placed inside the disposable container for ultimate disposition.

[0014] Still other features would be desirable in a package containing adisposable waste bag for collecting human waste such as the provision ofa packet of sanitary toilet paper and a pouch of sanitary cleaningcompound of such size as to be included in the same package as the wastecollection bag. Additionally, it would be extremely desirable if boththe waste collection bag and the package containing same were made ofrelatively inexpensive rapidly bio-degradable plastic materials.

[0015] The foregoing desired characteristics are provided by the uniquedisposable waste bag pack of the present invention as will be madeapparent from the following description thereof. Other advantages of thepresent invention over the prior art also will be rendered evident.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0016] A disposable waste bag pack is provided for use with a toiletwhich has a toilet seat and includes a first disposable bag whichincludes a zip-lock top first bag portion. A second disposable bagincludes an expandable second bag top portion and a second bag bottomportion, and the second bag top portion is sized to fit over the toiletseat. Also, the second bag bottom portion is sized to fit into the firstdisposable bag which extends below the toilet seat.

[0017] A third disposable bag includes a quantity of toilet paper and ahand wipe package. The third disposable bag and its contents are storedinside the first disposable bag prior to use of the first disposable bagfor retaining waste products. A directions sheet is also provided.

[0018] The second disposable bag includes a pair of pleated side walls.A quantity of waste treating chemicals are contained inside the seconddisposable bag. The waste treating chemicals include a powdered gellingagent, a powdered odor neutralizer, and a powdered decay catalyst.

[0019] The combination of the second disposable bag along with the wastetreating chemicals is marketed under the designation WAG(™) BAG or WasteAlleviation/Gelling Bag made by Phillips Environmental Products, Inc.,Bozeman, Mont. The toilet seat can be part of a Portable EnvironmentalToilet, know as PETT(™), also marketed by Phillips EnvironmentalProducts, Inc., Bozeman, Mont.

[0020] The above brief description sets forth rather broadly the moreimportant features of the present invention in order that the detaileddescription thereof that follows may be better understood, and in orderthat the present contributions to the art may be better appreciated.There are, of course, additional features of the invention that will bedescribed hereinafter and which will be for the subject matter of theclaims appended hereto.

[0021] In this respect, before explaining a preferred embodiment of theinvention in detail, it is understood that the invention is not limitedin its application to the details of the construction and to thearrangements of the components set forth in the following description orillustrated in the drawings. The invention is capable of otherembodiments and of being practiced and carried out in various ways.Also, it is to be understood, that the phraseology and terminologyemployed herein are for the purpose of description and should not beregarded as limiting.

[0022] It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide anew and improved disposable waste bag pack which has all of theadvantages of the prior art and none of the disadvantages.

[0023] It is another object of the present invention to provide a newand improved disposable waste bag pack which may be easily andefficiently manufactured and marketed.

[0024] It is a further object of the present invention to provide a newand improved disposable waste bag pack which is of durable and reliableconstruction.

[0025] An even further object of the present invention is to provide anew and improved disposable waste bag pack which is susceptible of a lowcost of manufacture with regard to both materials and labor, and whichaccordingly is then susceptible of low prices of sale to the consumingpublic, thereby making such portable potty apparatus available to thebuying public.

[0026] Still yet a further object of the present invention is to providea new and improved disposable waste bag pack which has first disposablebag and a second disposable bag adapted to collect humane waste whereinthe second bag is packaged inside the first bag prior to use.

[0027] Yet still another object of the present invention is to provide anew and improved disposable waste bag pack which has first disposablebag and a second disposable bag adapted to collect humane waste whereinthe second bag is packaged inside the first bag prior to use where boththe first disposable bag and the second disposable bag are fabricated ofbiodegradable plastic material.

[0028] Still another object of the present invention is to provide a newand improved disposable waste bag pack having a first disposable bag anda second disposable bag adapted to collect and retain humane wastetherein wherein the second bag is packaged inside the first bag prior touse and wherein the first bag further includes a third disposable bagincluding a quantity of toilet paper and a hand wipe package.

[0029] Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a newand improved disposable waste bag pack having a first disposable bag anda second disposable bag adapted to collect and retain humane wastetherein wherein the second bag is packaged inside the first bag prior touse and wherein the second bag includes interiorly thereof a quantity ofwaste treating chemicals comprising an admixture of a powderedhumane-waste-gelling-agent, a powdered odor neutralizer, and a powdereddecay catalyst.

[0030] Even another object of the present invention is to provide a newand improved disposable waste bag pack having a first disposable bag anda second disposable bag adapted to collect and retain humane wastetherein wherein the second bag is packaged inside the first bag prior touse and wherein the first bag further includes a third disposable bagincluding a quantity of toilet paper and a hand wipe package, andwherein the first bag has a top portion defining an opening and aclosure device for selectively opening and closing said opening toremove and insert articles therethrough.

[0031] These together with still other objects of the invention, alongwith the various features of novelty which characterize the invention,are pointed out with particularity in the claims annexed to and forminga part of this disclosure. For a better understanding of the invention,its operating advantages and the specific objects attained by its uses,reference should be had to the accompanying drawings and descriptivematter in which there are illustrated preferred embodiments of theinvention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0032] The invention will be better understood and the above objects aswell as objects other than those set forth above will become moreapparent after a study of the following detailed description thereof.Such description makes reference to the annexed drawing wherein:

[0033]FIG. 1 is a front perspective view showing a preferred embodimentof the disposable waste bag pack of the invention.

[0034]FIG. 2 is a rear perspective view of the embodiment of thedisposable waste bag pack shown in FIG. 1.

[0035]FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of the embodiment of thedisposable waste bag pack of FIG. 1.

[0036]FIG. 4 is a partially exploded, partially broken away, enlargedperspective view of portions of the embodiment of the invention shown inFIG. 3 that are used directly on a Portable Environmental Toilet.

[0037]FIG. 5 is a partially exploded perspective view of portions of thedisposable waste bag pack of the invention shown in FIG. 3 used with aPETT(™), which is a Portable Environmental Toilet made by PhillipsEnvironmental Products, Inc., Bozeman, Mont.

[0038]FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the portions of the embodiment ofthe invention shown in FIG. 5 assembled onto the Portable EnvironmentalToilet shown in FIG. 5.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

[0039] With reference to the drawings, a new and improved disposablewaste bag pack embodying the principles and concepts of the presentinvention will be described.

[0040] Turning to FIGS. 1-4, there is shown an exemplary embodiment ofthe disposable waste bag pack of the invention generally designated byreference numeral 10. In its preferred form, disposable waste bag pack10 is provided for use with a toilet 11 which has a toilet seat 13 andincludes a first disposable bag 12 which includes a zip-lock top firstbag portion 14. A second disposable bag 16 includes an expandable secondbag top portion 18 and a second bag bottom portion 20, and the secondbag top portion 18 is sized to fit over the toilet seat 13. Also, thesecond bag bottom portion 20 is sized to fit into the first disposablebag 12 which extends below the toilet seat 13.

[0041] A third disposable bag 26 includes a quantity of toilet paper 28and a hand wipe package 30. The third disposable bag 26 and its contentsare stored inside the first disposable bag 12 prior to use of the firstdisposable bag 12 for retaining waste products. A directions sheet 32 isalso provided.

[0042] The second disposable bag 16 includes a pair of pleated sidewalls 22. A quantity of waste treating chemicals 24 are contained insidethe second disposable bag 16. The waste treating chemicals 24 include anadmixture of the following compounds: a powdered gelling agent, apowdered odor neutralizer, and a powdered decay catalyst.

[0043] The combination of the second disposable bag 16 along with thewaste treating chemicals 24 is known as a WAG(™) BAG or WasteAlleviation/Gelling Bag made by Phillips Environmental Products, Inc.,Bozeman, Mont. The toilet seat 13 is part of a Portable EnvironmentalToilet, know as PETT(™), also made by Phillips Environmental Products,Inc., Bozeman, Mont.

[0044] In carrying out the present invention, the decay catalystadmixture component can be corn starch. Also it is within thecontemplation of the invention to have the bag 12, the bag 16, and thebag 26 all made of a rapidly biodegradable plastic material. Such bagsare referred to as compostable bags. A suitable such bag material isavailable commercially from INDACO Manufacturing Limited (recycledpolyethylene) under the Trademark BIO-SOLO, or its distributor theSpokane Packaging Division of Seattle Packaging, Spokane, Wash.

[0045] Referring to FIGS. 5 and 6, exemplary use of the disposable wastebag pack 10 of the invention is described below preferably in connectionwith the PETT(™) Portable Environmental Toilet which latter is fullydisclosed in our aforementioned prior co-pending application, Ser. No.09/468,594, filed Dec. 12, 1999, entitled: Portable Potty Apparatus, thespecification of which hereby is incorporated herein by this reference.

[0046] First, to use the second bag top portion 18 over the toilet seat13 of a PETT(™) Portable Environmental Toilet, the toilet seat 13 isfirst lifted. For purposes of simplicity, only a few portions of thePortable Environmental Toilet are shown in FIGS. 5 and 6. Morespecifically, the toilet seat 13, the toilet seat base 17, the mesh bagholder 15, and a number of support legs 19 are shown. A seconddisposable bag 16, such as a WAG(™) BAG, Waste Alleviation/Gelling Bag,is opened and inserted into a first disposable bag 12 which has azip-lock top first bag portion 14. When this is done, both the firstdisposable bag 12 and the second disposable bag 16 are placed in themesh bag 15 of the Portable Environmental Toilet as shown in FIG. 5.Then, the second bag top portion 18 is spread over the top of the toiletseat 13 after it is lowered, such as shown in FIG. 6. The top of thesecond bag top portion 18 installed in this way keeps the toilet seat 13sanitary when the Portable Environmental Toilet is used. If desired, thedirections sheet 32 can be placed inside the second disposable bag 16.After these steps have been taken, the second disposable bag 16 and thefirst disposable bag 12 are ready for use.

[0047] After the Portable Environmental Toilet has been used, the seconddisposable bag 16 is folded into the first disposable bag 12, and thezip-lock top first bag portion 14 is sealed shut. Then, the sealed firstdisposable bag 12, with the waste and second disposable bag 16 containedtherein, can be disposed of in a trash receptacle.

[0048] Alternatively, the first disposable bag 12 and the seconddisposable bag 16 can be used with the Portable Environmental Toiletsuch that the second bag top portion 18 is under the toilet seat 13.More specifically, in this alternative mode of use, both the firstdisposable bag 12 and the second disposable bag 16 10 are placed in themesh bag 15. The bags are opened wide for full capacity. A portion ofthe second bag top portion 18 is folded into a groove under the toiletseat 13, and the toilet seat 13 is lowered. After the PortableEnvironmental Toilet has been used, the second disposable bag 16 isfolded into the first disposable bag 12, and the zip-lock top first bagportion 14 is sealed shut. Then, as described for the first mode of use,the sealed first disposable bag 12, with the waste and second disposablebag 16 contained therein, can be disposed of in a trash receptacle.

[0049] It is noted that the full portable waste disposal system ofPhillips Environmental Products, Inc., Bozeman, Mont. includes thePETT(™) Portable Environmental Toilet, and the WAG™ BAG WasteAlleviation/Gelling Bag.

[0050] The components of the disposable waste bag pack of the inventioncan be made from inexpensive and durable plastic and paper materials.

[0051] The foregoing detailed description is considered as illustrativeonly of the principles of the invention. Numerous modifications andchanges will readily occur to those skilled in the art and therefore, itis not desired to limit the invention to the exact construction andoperation shown and described. Accordingly, all suitable modificationsand equivalents falling within the broad scope of the subject matterdescribed above may be resorted to in carrying out the presentinvention.

What is claimed as being new and desired to be protected by Letterspatent of the United States is as follows:
 1. A disposable bag forcollecting waste for use with a toilet unit having a seat unit thereon,said disposable bag comprising: a first closed end portion, a secondopen end portion adapted for engagement with said seat unit, said firstclosed end portion defining a confinement space for a quantity of wastematerial gelling compound, and a quantity of decay catalyst.
 2. Thedisposable bag of claim 1 further including a quantity of odorneutralizer.
 3. The disposable bag of claim 1 wherein said gellingcompound and said decay catalyst are in granular form.
 4. The disposablebag of claim 2 wherein said odor neutralizer is in granular form.
 5. Thedisposable bag of claim 1 further including a second disposable bag,said second disposable bag having a bottom closed portion and a top openportion, said top open portion including a closure member forselectively sealing and closing said opening, said disposable bag beingcontained interiorly of said second disposable bag through said opening.6. The disposable bag of claim 5 further including a third disposablebag, said third disposable bag including a quantity of toilet paper anda handy-wipe packet, said third disposable bag being containedinteriorly of said second disposable bag through said opening.
 7. Thedisposable bag of claim 5 wherein said disposable bag and said seconddisposable bag is fabricated of bio-degradable plastic material,disposable bag including a quantity of toilet paper and a handy-wipepacket, said third disposable bag being contained interiorly of saidsecond disposable bag through
 8. The disposable bag of claim 6 whereinsaid third disposable bag is fabricated of bio-degradable plasticmaterial.
 9. The disposable bag of claim 5 wherein said closure memberis a zip-lock member.